Lowering Drinking age?

d4l · 19-08-2008

100 college presidents seek debate on drinking age

Quote:

Originally Posted by From the Article

College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.

The movement called the Amethyst Initiative began quietly recruiting presidents more than a year ago to provoke national debate about the drinking age. So far, no Washington-based schools are on board.

Where does everyone stand on the lowering of the drinking age in the U.S.

Personally i think we should lower the drinking age. At the age of 18 you can smoke,vote, and go to war. I think that you should be able to get a beer. Whether or not the drinking age is lowered there will be underage drinking and drunk driving accidents.

Fallen · 19-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diapered4lyfe

[url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/375518_drinking19.html]
Personally i think we should lower the drinking age. At the age of 18 you can smoke,vote, and go to war.

Actually one of the best arguments out there, why is it at 18 you're mature enough to be shipped overseas and potentially watch you friends die or lose your own life, but you're not mature enough to drink a little alcohol.

Lower it to 16 in my opinion :P

Kip · 19-08-2008

I voted "Other - please explain". And I shall explain. I don't care. With the meds I'm on, drinking is bad. Therefore, I don't plan on drinking. Which is why I couldn't care less if the age was lowered or not.

UnMarth · 19-08-2008

I don't know. I personally think here in the UK the age limit should be raised from 18. I know some people may hate me for this. But I would ban alcohol if I had the choice. It does nothing but makes you silly. Sure, drink it responsibly. But I hardly see why we can't switch to the vast non alcoholic beverages that are still on the market. Every time I drink its only gotten me in trouble. And I am not that drunk to do silly things. I still drink, but I get considered a cheapskate for drinking fairly slowly, drunkeness is a side effect I do not hope for. To the kids out there, trust me. Your not missing much. I think its over hyped to be honest.

But my thoughts aside with my personal drinking habbits. You will always have the trouble of underage drinking. And I don't know what dangerous situations they are putting themselves in. But I would think if they are not treating drink well, then they shouldn't have it in the first place. I can't see lowering the age will help. they will continue like they always have.

As to see if the law change will go forward? I do not know. I have no idea what the governments are like on these issues over in the US.

Darkfinn · 19-08-2008

I personally think the drinking age should be lowered to 16. It'll never happen... but I figure by that point most kids that want the stuff are getting it illegally anyways, and sneaking off to consume it. If it was legal, these kids would be at home or at a bar... somewhere at least halfway responcible... not out in the back woods or alleyways chugging the stuff down.

If you can drive, smoke, vote, and give your life for your nation... you damn well better be able to have a drink.

LuvsGurl · 20-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnMarth

I don't know. I personally think here in the UK the age limit should be raised from 18. I know some people may hate me for this. But I would ban alcohol if I had the choice. It does nothing but makes you silly. Sure, drink it responsibly. But I hardly see why we can't switch to the vast non alcoholic beverages that are still on the market.

Well first of all I do not, can not, but probably would not drink. Though I do know history, when you remove the ability for people to but a substance like alcohol you lose control of its use. As it is I do not know one high school that in the US the at least 75% have drank and a large % of those have Binge drank. The Government is having a hard time controlling it, and that is with allowing at 21. When you take it away it gets really messed up. Look at American history when we removed the ability of drink, what did we get out to it, Speakeasies, Black-market, The Mob, Week police informant, and moon shining, Rotgut poisoning, and NASCAR (I count that as a -BTW). All of this because we banned it.
Though I am with many others when I say that if one is able to make a choice like who will Screw up our Country next or if they want to risk their lives for others, they should be able to choose the risk their lives for stupidity. Dose this mean lowering the drinking age, well unless you want to rise voting and registration age, yes.

mm3 · 20-08-2008

Saw this on the news just now

1.) we can go to war, but not have a drink?!
2.) if people want to drink, they're gonna do it anyway. if it's illegal, it just makes teens want to do it MORE.

(16 would be a bit too low -- imagine me drinking some ol' Jack?! meep!)

Nam Repaid · 20-08-2008

When I was a teen they lowered it to 18 because of the VietNam war the voting age too. After they raised the drinking age but left the vote. I think 18 should be the age.

Nam

Lukie · 20-08-2008

Well, living in a country where the drinking age is 18 and drinking is part of our culture, I can honestly say that this age is the absolute bare minimum it should be. It should not be lowered any further, and, in fact, should probably be raised.

Every time I go out on the weekend, there's a good chance I'll have to be stepping around vomit on the sidewalk, or broken glass, or have to avoid some drunken idiot trying to start a fight (and I've been in all 3 of these situations many times before). Most of the time, it's early 20-something year olds who are loud, uncouth and just generally too hot-headed for their own good. Just recently, a guy in my city got bashed in the street and by a group of drunken guys... he's now got to live with huge facial scarring the rest of his life, but he's just thankful he's still alive.

More so, the youth in this country have a problem with binge-drinking. The government has recently put a huge tax on pre-mixed drinks, raising the price to levels where no young person would be willing to spend without consideration. What's stupid is this that these people are now turning to harder alcohols, like spirits/liquor because it's much cheaper. The government plan has backfired and now we have even drunker people.

There's 2 problems here.

These kids don't know how to handle their alcohol and they don't know how much they can take. People drink in huge amounts and think they are going to be fine. Everyone has a different tolerance to all the different types of alcohol, and a lot of people overestimate how much they are capable of before having to be hoisted out of the bar/club by their friends. I've fallen into this trap myself and I can honestly say it's led to some of the worst times of my life.
It's still "cool" to get drunk and the peer pressure is there. When you're out with your friends, it's hard to say you don't want anything because they often are like, "C'mon! It'll be good!" etc... Leading you to feel isolated and anti-social if you don't drink. A lot of young people give in to easily to this and this leads into my point above where they don't do it in moderation and drink way too much. You've got to remember that you have the ability to say "No". Don't be afraid to tell people to "Piss Off" if they back you into a corner to have a drink when you don't want to.

Other than that, I'd have no problem if the drinking age was raised in my area. It'd keep a lot of those scum people off the streets and keep the place a little bit safer. Although in the entertainment district in my city (the main spot for all clubs/bars), there is a huge police presence. Any fight is usually stopped within minutes and the offenders are carted away and punished severely. But that still doesn't stop people from starting stuff like that.

Night · 20-08-2008

I think it should be lower to 18, because you can smoke (which is more dangerous then beer and cause more health risks), vote and go to war (hell you probably have a great chance dieing in a war then you do with beer) so while can't you drink, I mean it your own damn fault if you choice to driving dunk or drink too much....

View Poll Results: Should the Drinking Age be Lowered to 18?
No, Keep the current age of 21	17	19.77%
No, but lower it to a different age	5	5.81%
Yes, but you have to be 21 to buy hard liquors	7	8.14%
Yes, Lower the drinking age to 18	50	58.14%
Other, Please explain	7	8.14%
Voters: 86. You may not vote on this poll

20-08-2008	#9 (permalink)
Lukie Aysc.qm Historical Donor Staff Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Australia Age: 19 Posts: 2,081 Threads: 26 Gallery Uploads: 4 Wiki Edits: 148 Blog Entries: 36	Well, living in a country where the drinking age is 18 and drinking is part of our culture, I can honestly say that this age is the absolute bare minimum it should be. It should not be lowered any further, and, in fact, should probably be raised. Every time I go out on the weekend, there's a good chance I'll have to be stepping around vomit on the sidewalk, or broken glass, or have to avoid some drunken idiot trying to start a fight (and I've been in all 3 of these situations many times before). Most of the time, it's early 20-something year olds who are loud, uncouth and just generally too hot-headed for their own good. Just recently, a guy in my city got bashed in the street and by a group of drunken guys... he's now got to live with huge facial scarring the rest of his life, but he's just thankful he's still alive. More so, the youth in this country have a problem with binge-drinking. The government has recently put a huge tax on pre-mixed drinks, raising the price to levels where no young person would be willing to spend without consideration. What's stupid is this that these people are now turning to harder alcohols, like spirits/liquor because it's much cheaper. The government plan has backfired and now we have even drunker people. There's 2 problems here. These kids don't know how to handle their alcohol and they don't know how much they can take. People drink in huge amounts and think they are going to be fine. Everyone has a different tolerance to all the different types of alcohol, and a lot of people overestimate how much they are capable of before having to be hoisted out of the bar/club by their friends. I've fallen into this trap myself and I can honestly say it's led to some of the worst times of my life. It's still "cool" to get drunk and the peer pressure is there. When you're out with your friends, it's hard to say you don't want anything because they often are like, "C'mon! It'll be good!" etc... Leading you to feel isolated and anti-social if you don't drink. A lot of young people give in to easily to this and this leads into my point above where they don't do it in moderation and drink way too much. You've got to remember that you have the ability to say "No". Don't be afraid to tell people to "Piss Off" if they back you into a corner to have a drink when you don't want to. Other than that, I'd have no problem if the drinking age was raised in my area. It'd keep a lot of those scum people off the streets and keep the place a little bit safer. Although in the entertainment district in my city (the main spot for all clubs/bars), there is a *huge* police presence. Any fight is usually stopped within minutes and the offenders are carted away and punished severely. But that still doesn't stop people from starting stuff like that.

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19-08-2008	#3 (permalink)
Kip Banned Join Date: May 2008 Location: Florida, USA Age: 19 Posts: 412 Threads: 21 Gallery Uploads: 8 Reputation: 3	I voted "Other - please explain". And I shall explain. I don't care. With the meds I'm on, drinking is bad. Therefore, I don't plan on drinking. Which is why I couldn't care less if the age was lowered or not.

19-08-2008	#4 (permalink)
UnMarth Mitte! Mitte! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: UK Posts: 544 Threads: 11 Gallery Uploads: 1 Wiki Edits: 43 Blog Entries: 15	I don't know. I personally think here in the UK the age limit should be raised from 18. I know some people may hate me for this. But I would ban alcohol if I had the choice. It does nothing but makes you silly. Sure, drink it responsibly. But I hardly see why we can't switch to the vast non alcoholic beverages that are still on the market. Every time I drink its only gotten me in trouble. And I am not that drunk to do silly things. I still drink, but I get considered a cheapskate for drinking fairly slowly, drunkeness is a side effect I do not hope for. To the kids out there, trust me. Your not missing much. I think its over hyped to be honest. But my thoughts aside with my personal drinking habbits. You will always have the trouble of underage drinking. And I don't know what dangerous situations they are putting themselves in. But I would think if they are not treating drink well, then they shouldn't have it in the first place. I can't see lowering the age will help. they will continue like they always have. As to see if the law change will go forward? I do not know. I have no idea what the governments are like on these issues over in the US.

19-08-2008	#5 (permalink)
Darkfinn Regular Historical Donor Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC Age: 24 Posts: 2,720 Threads: 68 Gallery Uploads: 16 Wiki Edits: 4 Blog Entries: 17	I personally think the drinking age should be lowered to 16. It'll never happen... but I figure by that point most kids that want the stuff are getting it illegally anyways, and sneaking off to consume it. If it was legal, these kids would be at home or at a bar... somewhere at least halfway responcible... not out in the back woods or alleyways chugging the stuff down. If you can drive, smoke, vote, and give your life for your nation... you damn well better be able to have a drink.

20-08-2008	#7 (permalink)
mm3 hack Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New York Age: 16 Posts: 864 Threads: 51 Gallery Uploads: 3 Wiki Edits: 2	Saw this on the news just now 1.) we can go to war, but not have a drink?! 2.) if people want to drink, they're gonna do it anyway. if it's illegal, it just makes teens want to do it MORE. (16 would be a bit too low -- imagine me drinking some ol' Jack?! meep!)

20-08-2008	#8 (permalink)
Nam Repaid Regular Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New England USA Posts: 307 Threads: 3 Gallery Uploads: 1 Reputation: 4	When I was a teen they lowered it to 18 because of the VietNam war the voting age too. After they raised the drinking age but left the vote. I think 18 should be the age. Nam

20-08-2008	#10 (permalink)
Night The Reaper Of Dreams Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The Darkside Of The Moon, USA Age: 19 Posts: 1,336 Threads: 32 Gallery Uploads: 37 Blog Entries: 3	I think it should be lower to 18, because you can smoke (which is more dangerous then beer and cause more health risks), vote and go to war (hell you probably have a great chance dieing in a war then you do with beer) so while can't you drink, I mean it your own damn fault if you choice to driving dunk or drink too much....